Nightmares
by Forged Obsidian
Summary: Some things take time to fade.


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_The clean, sterilized scent of scrubbed metal filled Koba's nose, even as he was strapped face down on a cold slab of something. He became aware of pricks in his feet, slowly traveling up his legs to trail along his spine and dip into his lungs. It felt strange, but not unpleasant. Yet._

_Koba knew this dream. It had tapered off as the years wore on, but even now, surrounded by his family and protected, they came. Next, Koba knew, came the mask. The slightly sulfuric smell washed out the sterile scent, and before long the floor tiles were swirling and splattering in Koba's vision. The prickiling grew, until a panicked ache blasted into his head. _

_Koba jerked against the restraints, but they only seemed to grow tighter like snakes, digging into his arms and legs. The mask started to sputter, and it was getting harder to breathe. _

_He felt something in his back, and a cool tickle made its way from his shoulder to hip. Koba knew it was a knife, and the pain would come later. Even as the mask failed and the snakes wound their way towards his heart, pain grew along his back, growing into starbursts behind his eyes and he tried to shriek, but he couldn't **breathe** . . ._

He jolted awake with a muffled snarl, his jaws clamped shut. Looking around quickly, his head like a leaf loose on a branch, Koba swiveled around. He saw the wooden walls of the tree house. He dimly remembered something about a hunting trip, teaching Ash and Blue Eyes how to hunt stray deer. He glanced Rocket out of the corner of his eye, and Stone resting close to the trunk. The two younger apes themselves were sleeping in a bile of long limbs and comparatively big feet. Caesar was nowhere to be seen, but he could take care of himself.

Panting lightly, Koba turned and dashed out of the small tree-bound hut, skidding to a stop as the flooring ran out. It was too dark to go swinging through the trees, especially with his hampered eyesight. He paced along the edge of the small walkway that wound around the hut, trying to breathe without air whistling between his teeth.

The, something was behind him and Koba struck without thinking, one fist coming around aiming vaguely for what - in the darkness - seemed to be a head. His hand never got there, however. The something grabbed his arm, and pulled Koba toward itself and the floor. He was pinned. His arm held straight behind him and pressing into his shoulder, Koba couldn't move save for his scrabbling legs.

"Koba."

_. . . oh._

It was Caesar.

Koba stopped scrabbling, relaxing and trying to shrink in on himself. His arm was released, and he felt Caesar grab him by the shoulders and drag him up against the outside of the hut. Even as what little eyesight Koba had shimmered, he could see his leader looking down into his face, strong hands supporting his shoulders.

Caesar's hands moved in front of his face, but Koba couldn't register anything, instead trying to curl up into himself and against the wall. He was dimly aware of someone - Blue Eyes? - sticking his head out of the opening in the hut. Koba saw Caesar wave his son back inside, before again gripping Koba's shoulders and forcing him to look at his leader.

Caesar was kneeling down in front of him, a committed look on his face. Koba's breathing was coming back, and what little he could see was getting clearer. A slight ghost of pain shivered up his back, and he lurched forward. Caesar simply held his companion, even when Koba jerked at the physical contact.

Finally, Koba went limp with exhaustion. His leader waited for a moment longer, then gently pushed Koba against the wall of the hut.

**Better?** Caesar signed clearly, making sure Koba could see him.

A shaky hand was used to answer. **Yes**.

Caesar nodded, reaching out and patting Koba's shoulder. Then, with his other hand, he signed. **Dreams again?**

Koba took a deep breath before answering. **Yes. Worse sometimes than others.**

Caesar exhaled in agreement. His leader moved, sitting next to Koba. More time passed, and Koba's head drifted toward his chest. Eventually, he fell into a half sleep. Caesar simply sat on watch, occasionally gripping Koba's forearm as the older ape twitched in his sleep.

When the sun rose, Caesar silently swayed to his feet. He went inside the hut, and gently woke the other apes. Blue Eyes gave him a questioning glance, before looking out of the hut. He could just barely see Koba's shoulder, and sighed in relief. He looked at his father, and signed. **Dreams?**

Caesar nodded, and moved out of the hut to gently shake Koba awake. He noted the way his friend still stiffened at touch, though it was a vast improvement from the first few weeks they had been living in the forest. Then, Koba had jerked away hard enough that he had fallen out of trees once or twice. It had taken time to grow past that barrier, but he was improving all the time.

As Koba blinked himself awake, he tried to escape the concerned glances of his fellow comrades. As they gathered their spears (Ash still had some trouble working with such a long object), Koba took extra care to show that he was still strong. He gripped his spear with assurance, and made sure to check the head for chipping or dullness. He stifled an amused hoot as Blue Eyes tried to do the same.

As they swung through the trees, with Stone running along the ground with his spear holster, Caesar made sure to keep an extra eye on Koba. While his friend was certainly strong, every now and again he slipped into the past. One particularly bad flashback had left Koba unable to allow anyone to touch him for weeks. Eventually, though, Cornelia had won him over again. It had taken a while.

At around noon, they spotted an old doe making her way down a small hill. While Caesar and Rocket moved forward to give tips on how to throw, Koba and Stone stuck back and watched. Blue Eyes sneaked a glance past his father to his mentor, a worried look in his eyes.

Koba lightly snorted, and quickly signed. **I'm fine. Do not worry about missing.** Koba let out a toothless grin. **Caesar missed many times.**

Blue Eyes looked relieved, and went back to listening to his father. Koba sighed, and leaned against a tree trunk.

Even as the two young apes threw their spears and missed, Koba thought. He was not an ape known for thinking, but he wasn't bad at it.

He thought about how swinging through the trees had pulled his back, but not cut it. How Caesar gripped his shoulders, and he had not bled. Blue Eyes had been concerned for him. They all had been really. Here, he mattered. He was not a lab play toy.

Maybe he would be fine.

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**Yes, another Apes oneshot. I apologize for nothing. **

**I'm really looking forward to getting the movie once it comes out. I noticed so many thing in just the two times I've managed to see the movie, and I want to explore the relationship between Koba and Caesar before the humans showed up again.**

**Yes, I know that a while ago I promised a happy Thorin piece. It will come, I promise. **

**I also have a single Harry Potter story that I'm working on (the only one I'll post for that fandom), as well as a single Hannibal one. I want to get those out of the way before comiting to many more projects.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated**!


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